Duplicate questions on Microsoft Q&A

  • Article

Sometimes, users ask a question on Q&A that is answered in another question. In those cases, moderators mark it as duplicate to send users to the existing question with answers.

Terminology

  • Source question: A question that is the same of another question. For example, Question A is a duplicate of Question B, so Question A is the source questionmarked as duplicate of Question B. **Target question:** A question that is the same question of another question and has answers or more information. For example,Question Ais a duplicate ofQuestion B, so Question B` is the target question.

Limitations

  • Only moderators can mark questions as duplicate.
  • When the question is marked as duplicated, you see a label indicating that you can't engage with the question anymore: you can't add or edit the content.
  • Duplicated questions don't show in the question list.

Mark question as duplicate

When a moderator marks a question as a duplicate of another, the source question displays a label directing users to the already answered target question.

  1. Select the overflow menu on a question.
  2. Select the button "Mark as duplicate".
  3. A modal appears. Select the target question by entering into the text for the question title or the question title from the URL.
  4. Confirm the action by selecting the blue "Yes, mark as duplicate" button within the modal.

Upon confirmation, the page refreshes, and the source question displays a duplicate label with a link to the target question.

Mark question as duplicate using question title

This option shows the most results and might not give you the question you're looking for.

Screenshot of the duplicate question modal using the question title.

Mark question as duplicate using question title between double quotes

If you're using the question title, we recommend you add it between quotes for best results.

Screenshot of the duplicate question modal using the question title between double quotes.

Mark question as duplicate using question title from the URL

You can find the target question using its title from the URL. This option shows few results. For example for question with URL https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1162236/can-nativewindow-be-used-for-a-window-whose-handle, the question title is can-nativewindow-be-used-for-a-window-whose-handle.

Screenshot of the duplicate question modal using the question title from the URL.

Undo mark a question as duplicate

A moderator removes the duplicate mark to a question.

  1. Select the overflow menu on the source question.
  2. Select the button "Undo duplicate".
  3. A modal appears. Confirm the action by selecting the blue "Yes, undo duplicate" button.

Upon confirmation, the page refreshes; the label is removed and you can engage on the question thread again.